Medical Dictionary Definitions A-Z List

Medical Dictionary Definitions A - Z - «P»:

PalmarPalmar: Pertaining to the palm (the grasping side) of the hand. The ancient Romans used the word "palma" for the outstretched palm of the hand.
By comparison, the term "volar" applies to both the palm and sole. It comes from word "vola" which the Romans used for "the palm of the hand and the sole o...

Palmar surfacePalmar surface: The palm or grasping side of the hand....

PalmitatePalmitate: An antioxidant and a vitamin A compound that is added to low-fat and fat-free milk to replace the vitamin content lost through the removal of milk fat. Palmitate (more formally known as retinyl palmitate) contains palmitic acid, a 16-carbon saturated fatty acid, which is the major fatty a...

Palmoplantar hyperhidrosisPalmoplantar hyperhidrosis: Excessive sweating of the palms and soles. Palm and sole sweating tends to begin around age 13 on the average....

PalpablePalpable: Something that can be felt or touched. For example, a palpable tumor is one that can be felt. From the Latin "palpare" (to stroke or to pat)....

PalpatePalpate: To touch or feel. For example, the edge of an enlarged liver may be palpated below the rib cage. From the Latin "palpare" (to stroke or to pat). Just as the Latin word means to touch or feel lightly, that is how a doctor palpates the abdomen....

PalpebraPalpebra: The eyelid. The plural is palpebrae and the adjective is palpebral, as in palpebral fissure....

Palpebral conjunctivaPalpebral conjunctiva: The part of the conjunctiva, a clear membrane, that coats the inside of the eyelids.
The palpebral conjunctiva is as opposed to the ocular (or bulbar) conjunctiva, the part of the conjunctiva that covers the outer surface of the eye....

Palpebral fissurePalpebral fissure: The opening for the eyes between the eyelids. ...

PalpitationsPalpitations: Unpleasant sensations of irregular and/or forceful beating of the heart. In some patients with palpitations, no heart disease or abnormal heart rhythms can be found. In others, palpitations result from abnormal heart rhythms (arrhythmias). Arrhythmias refer to heartbeats that are too s...

PalsyPalsy: Paralysis, generally partial, whereby
a local body area is incapable of voluntary movement (motor
function). For example, Bell's palsy is localized paralysis of the
muscles on one side of the face. The word "palsy" is a corruption
(and contracture) of the French word "paralysie" which me...

Palsy, Bell'sPalsy, Bell's: Paralysis of the facial nerve, the nerve that supplies the facial muscles on one side of the face.
The cause of paralysis of the facial nerve (the 7th cranial
nerve) is often not known, but is thought to be due to a virus.
The disease typically starts suddenly and causes paralysis ...

Palsy, laryngealPalsy, laryngeal: Paralysis of the recurrent laryngeal nerve, a branch of the vagus nerve (a long and important nerve that originates in the brainstem and runs down to the colon). After the recurrent laryngeal nerve leaves the vagus nerve, it goes down into the chest and then loops back up to suppl...

Palsy, laryngeal nervePalsy, laryngeal nerve: Paralysis of the larynx (voice
box) caused by damage to the recurrent laryngeal nerve or its parent
nerve, the vagus nerve, which originates in the brainstem and runs
down to the colon. The recurrent laryngeal nerve supplies the larynx
(voice box). The larynx will be par...